Abstract
The growing dematerialization of the economy is largely due to the development of the technologies of information and communication (TICS). This technological evolution changes the conventional capitalist system where technological information, intellectual property and knowledge become the new values, forming an intangible capital that substitutes the tangible capital of industrial capitalism. Knowledge capitalism’ can be defined as another system of accumulation, where intellectual ideas, technologies, patents, concepts, access, relationships and business models become the main sources of accumulation and value. The terminology is not well established in the literature and the terms “cognitive”, “knowledge”, “intangible” or “intellectual” capitalism are commonly used. While “intangible” is a useful term, there is a tendency for intangibles to be considered more as assets than, equally important, “capabilities”. From this perspective, the terms knowledge economy and intellectual capitalism have a better communication value and will be used interchangeably in this chapter.
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Notes
See, for example, Granstrand, O. (1999) The shift towards intellectual capitalism — the role of Infocom Technologies, Gothenburg, Chalmers University of Technology;
Moulier Boutag, Y. (2008) Le capitalisme cognitif, Paris, Edition Amsterdam; Rullani, E. (2000) Le capitalisme cognitif: du déjà-vu?, Multitudes, No. 2, May 20.
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Government Office for Science (2012) Technology and Innovation Futures: UK Growth Opportunities for the 2020s. In European Commission, Digital Agenda for Europe.
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Arrow, K.J. (1971) Essays in the Theory of Risk Bearing, Chicago, Markham Publishing.
See also Arrow, K.J. (1984) Information and economic behavior, in Collected Papers of Kenneth J. Arrow, Vol. 4, Cambridge MA, Belknap Press.
Machlup identifies 13 different “elements of knowing”, including: being acquainted with, being familiar with, being aware of, remembering, recollecting, recognizing, distinguishing, understanding, interpreting, being able to explain, being able to demonstrate, being able to talk about and being able to perform. Machlup, F. (1980) Knowledge: Its Creation, Distribution and Economic Significance, Vol.1, Princeton NJ, Princeton University Press.
Polanyi, M. (1958/1998) Personal Knowledge: Towards a Post-Critical Philosophy, London, Routledge.
See also: Polanyi, M. (1967) The Tacit Dimension, New York, Anchor Books.
Arrow, K.L. (1971) Essays in the Theory of Risk Bearing.
Rullani, E. (2004) Economia della conoscenza. Creatività e valore nel capitalism delle reti, Editore Carocci, Studi superiori.
Mason, M.K. (2012) Knowledge management; the essence of the competitive edge, working paper, available at http://www.moyak.com:papers/knowledge-management.html.
Mason, M.K. (2012) Knowledge management; the essence of the competitive edge, p.4.
McKinsey Global Institute (2011) Urban World: Mapping the Economic Power of Cities, McKinsey, March.
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© 2014 Jean-Jacques Lambin
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Lambin, JJ. (2014). A Knowledge-Based Economy. In: Rethinking the Market Economy. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137392916_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137392916_7
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